Billy Frank Jr. Place provides 43 units of affordable housing for low-income residents in a new, energy efficient 4-story building in downtown Olympia. The project serves homeless veterans, homeless young adults (age 18-24), disabled individuals and other members of the community.
The building is named in honor of Native American environmental leader and treaty rights activist Billy Frank Jr., known for his five decades of grassroots campaigning for tribal fishing rights in traditional waters in Washington. Frank, a member of the Nisqually Tribe and a tireless champion for the protection of forests and salmon streams, was chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for 25 years until his passing in 2014. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.